On the morning of October 17, 1967, the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Infantry Division's 28th Regiment ("Black Lions") initiated contact with the 271st Viet Cong Regiment near the jungle stream of Ông Thanh, some fifty miles north of Saigon. The ensuing clash quickly escalated into a full-scale battle that saw the VC gaining fire superiority over the Americans, attacking their attackers with skill and ferocity, inflicting 134 casualties-including 57 killed-by the time the fighting had ended. There were many extraordinary acts of heroism that day by the men of the Black Lions, which made the unexpected outcome all the more shocking. An experienced, combat-tested unit, the 2-28 was nevertheless badly mauled by an enemy it had actively pursued and with whom it had aggressively initiated battle, in the fullest confidence that it would prevail. How and why did this happen? "The Beast Was Out There" is the product of a decades-long effort by James Shelton, the 2-28's former operations officer, to answer that question. In what is both an historical narrative an a personal memoir, the author reconstructs the chain of events leading up to the violent encounter with the VC regiment, and describes in gripping detail the battle's tragic and disastrous unfolding. In doing so he reveals aspects of fighting often neglected by historians and provides a new vision of the war in Vietnam.

Foreword / David Maraniss -- Preface / John F. Votaw -- Author's preface -- The Battle of Ông Thanh: a perspective -- The Big Red One: history -- The Big Red One: Vietnam -- Life in an infantry battalion in 1967 -- Living and learning -- The seal of Dog Leg Village -- Phouc Vinh -- Playboy, ambush, and retribution -- New commander -- Securing firebases -- Uniontown -- My last operation -- Watching from division -- The Battle of Ông Thanh: from my perspective -- The Battle of Ông Thanh: from other perspectives -- Personalities -- The men -- Epilogue -- Appendix 1: Harold B. Durham Jr., Medal of Honor Citation -- Appendix 2: fundamentals of infantry -- Appendix 3: fundamentals of artillery.